Return to Innocence
by Kuko-chan
Summary: Post-Hourglass one-shot. 6 years after the Hourglass, Sky and Sora, living their own separate lives, experience odd feelings drawing them to the Cornerstone of Light where they learn that reality is about to break down unless a sacrifice is made. S/R, S/L


**A/N:**__Well, everyone, this is it. The final hurrah for Hourglass. I've actually had this written long before I started Timeless and it's been sitting on my computer neglected until now.

**Return to Innocence**

Sora awoke in the middle of the night feeling strange. He sat up slowly, wondering if it was just the remnants of a dream he couldn't remember. As a Keyblade Master, strange dreams were a normal occurrence, but usually they were quite vivid and he always remembered them. No, this strange feeling coursing through his veins was not the result of a dream – he didn't recall dreaming that night. This was something else. Something huge.

He turned on his side and flipped on the side table lamp, flooding the room with a dull orange light. There was an annoyed groan next to him and a body shifted, drawing the blanket over his silver head to block out the light.

"Go to sleep, Sora," a voice mumbled, caught between sleeping and waking. Sora smiled at his lover and got out of bed. His bare feet padded across the soft carpet to the bathroom that was joined to their room. He flipped the light switch as he walked in, squinting in a painful way as the light irritated his eyes. When his eyes adjusted and he was able to see properly, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror carefully, as if searching for something to explain the weird sensation he was experience.

What he saw was not the boy he used to be when the Keyblade first chose him. No, what he saw was a man; 24-years-old, well-built from years of extensive on-going training (just because the universe hadn't seen a trace of Heartless in 6 years didn't mean the threat was gone forever) and quite handsome, if he did say so himself. He still had that child-like twinkle in his blue eyes, and his hair still refused to be tamed by any means, but his face had grown lean and sharp, his features had matured, and his upper body had filled out with muscles from daily practise with his Keyblade.

Despite looking himself over thoroughly, Sora couldn't see anything wrong. Whatever the strange feeling was, it certainly wasn't visible. He looked down at his hands, battle-worn and calloused, and he saw nothing there either. Still, despite the lack of any visual evidence, he knew something was about to happen, something important. His heart was fluttering with an odd apprehension and he was finding himself a little short of breath, as if he were holding it for a few seconds at a time. He couldn't explain it.

Warm arms wrapped around his waist and a pair of lips kissed his neck. He sighed contently, leaning back into the touch of his lover, and gently latched onto the arms holding him.

"What's wrong?" whispered a voice in his ears.

"Nothing…" Sora stared at his reflection a second longer, his eyes shifting to the person standing behind him. Riku gazed back at him. His sleepy face contained worry and concern. "It's nothing, Riku. Really. I just… feel a little odd, that's all." They stood there for a long while, staring at each other through the mirror. Riku knew it wasn't 'nothing', but Sora didn't know how to explain it, so they left it at that for now.

"It's probably that bowl of ice-cream you had before bed," Riku chuckled quietly, nipping at Sora's neck. "You shouldn't eat junk food before bed. It'll give you fucked-up dreams."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind for next time." Sora turned around so he was facing Riku properly and laid a kiss on his lips. "C'mon, let's go back to bed." As they left the bathroom, Sora stole one last glance at himself in the mirror, hoping to catch whatever it was that was causing him to be restless, and for a second, he thought he saw a different person in the mirror, someone who looked just like him but different, jaded and scorned with just a hint of underlying sadness. He shivered, despite the warmth of their room. What did it mean?

oOoOo

Sky bolted upright in bed, something irritating the back of his thoughts, like a nagging feeling he got when he forgot to do something important. He looked out the window, hoping it would come back to him, whatever it was that needed to be done. All he saw was the darkened rooftops of other buildings and the moon shining brightly through the window. Nothing outside seemed out of place. Sky looked down at his own hands. They felt like they were crackling with untapped mana, but he saw nothing to suggest this was true.

Another body stirred next to him and Leon sat up, sensing that his lover was awake.

"Everything okay?" he asked, always on high alert for enemies. Sky relaxed and smiled.

"Everything's fine, Squall," he whispered, sneaking a kiss in. He was the only person permitted to call Leon by the name Squall. "I just had this weird feeling, like…" He trailed off, unable to find an explanation for the feeling. "I think I'll double check if the oven's off." He slipped out of bed, the restless feeling calling him forth. Leon watched him quietly for a few seconds as Sky pulled on his housecoat and walked out of the room.

Sky descended the stairs of their small one-bedroom townhouse and entered the kitchen. The oven was off and everything seemed fine. He turned to the living room. The TV was off. He went into the front foyer and opened the front door, looking out. Nothing unusual out there. He closed the door and locked it tight. It was unlikely that someone would try robbing them in the middle of the night – everyone knew who Leon and Sky were and what they were capable of, so only a madman would even think of breaking into their house – but it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, Sky never could shake all his old habits, and one of them was paranoia.

When he returned to his bedroom, Leon was already passed out, breathing evenly and softly. Sky smiled as he lay down next to him, and he was overcome by the strong urge to brush some of Leon's locks out of his face. Suddenly, that strange feeling magnified ten fold, and it wasn't just a feeling like he forgot to do something, it felt like he was about to do something that would lose him something important. For an instant, he was scared. He glanced at the calendar on the wall next to the door. A cold feeling flooded him.

In two days, it would be exactly 7 years since he had left his own timeline and travelled back in time to change the course of history.

He wondered if it meant anything.

oOoOo

Sora took a moment to drape a towel over his shoulder. He looked over his assembled class, a small group of students, eager and bright-eyed, willing to follow orders and learn new skills.

"Okay, guys, we're going to start with a bit of warm-ups," he announced. He had an air of authority, but not one that was demanded, it was one that was earned through trust, experience, and most importantly, kindness. These kids looked up to Sora and they respected him greatly. Some of them had been in his class for several years. Some had only joined recently but had immediately fallen in line.

Shortly after Sora had graduated from high school, he had opened a dojo to teach kids how to handle a sword and learn self-defence. Destiny Island was hardly a dangerous place, but some kids wanted to know how to fight just for the sake of knowing. Over the years, Sora's reputation had spread across the island to the mainland, and he became well-known for his teaching and fighting skills. The kids loved him and the parents were grateful to him for providing a bit of exercise in their kids' lives. And it was good for Sora because it kept his skills sharp. He rarely used his Keyblade anymore, but he knew if he had to, he'd still be able to.

"Lilo, Penny, let's see you demonstrate the moves I taught in the last class," Sora requested. A short girl with dark hair and a tanned complexion stepped forward, along with a slightly taller girl with short light brown hair. He handed out two slender blue rubber bats.

The girls walked to the centre of the room where several large mats were laid out, and they assumed fighting stances, one arm out in front in a defensive position, and the other arm holding the bat straight out behind themselves, ready to strike. They held those stances until Sora blew his whistle, and then they sprung into action. Lilo aimed her bat straight forward, but Penny whacked it aside and wound up to strike the side of Lilo's head. Quick to deflect, Lilo backed up to regain her footing before running back into the fray and performing a sliding dash, aiming for Penny's feet. Penny jumped over Lilo's body and landed gracefully on the other side. She quickly spun around and drove her bat at Lilo's form, but Lilo's hand shot out and wrapped around the bat, wrenching it out of Penny's hand.

Sora blew his whistle quickly. "Lilo, that was an unwise move. Can you tell me why?" Lilo looked around and then stared at the bat in her hand, feeling slightly ashamed to have made a mistake in front of all her classmates.

"If this was a real sword, I would have grabbed the sharpened blade edge," she answered quietly. "My hand would have been cut." Sora nodded.

"I know that the temptation is great to think otherwise, but you have to really pretend that the bats you're using are real swords. Until I'm sure you know that, I won't be absolutely comfortable letting you advance to stage three. Do you understand?" Lilo nodded, standing up and handing the blue bat back to Penny. "That was a great sliding dash, Lilo," Sora said as he collected the bats from the girls. Lilo beamed at the compliment. That was usually how Sora ran his classes. He would teach them something new, have them demonstrate it, tell them where they were making mistakes, and follow it up with an encouraging comment to keep their spirit up. "And nice evading, Penny! Very stylish." Penny smiled and did her best to hide her blush. "Next two, Biggs, Wedge, let's see what you got."

As two young teenage boys walked into the centre mat, Sora spotted Riku walking into the room from the side. He smiled and held up one finger as if to say 'Hang on a minute'. He blew his whistle and watched carefully as Biggs and Wedge began sparring. The fight came to a conclusion when Wedge managed to knock Biggs onto the ground and held him at 'sword point'.

"Very good, you guys," Sora called as he helped Biggs to his feet. "Biggs, always maintain eye contact. That's how you make sure your enemy doesn't fake you out like Wedge did." He patted Wedge on the back and looked at the rest of his students. "Alright, guys, pair off and practise the reversal I showed you last week." He walked over to where Riku was waiting for him while the student paired up and started working on their skills. "Hey Riku, what's up?"

Riku grinned devilishly. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to see how your class was going. I got off my shift early." Sora observed his appearance.

"You came here straight from the station?" he mused. Riku was still dressed in his blue uniform, gun holster strapped securely to his hip along with his radio, baton, and silver handcuffs. He had joined the police academy a year after graduation, somehow feeling like protecting the innocent would alleviate his guilt about all the lives he took during the second Heartless war. "Aren't you supposed to get dressed into civilian clothes when you're not on duty?" The grin on his face grew even wider.

"Yeah, but I know you love it when I'm in my uniform." He stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Sora's waist. "What time do you finish?" Sora glanced at his wrist watch.

"Another hour." Riku pressed a quick kiss to Sora's lips.

"Too bad."

"Aww!" a small voice cooed. Sora and Riku turned to see Lilo pointing and giggling. "Sensei is so cute!" Sora blushed and stepped away from Riku, rubbing the back of his head in a bashful way. "Don't let Penny see you, or she'll be _sooo_ jealous!" And then she dashed off to rejoin her sparring partner. Riku cocked an eyebrow at Sora.

"Penny? A secret admirer?" he joked. Sora laughed nervously.

"She just started three weeks ago," Sora said. "She's really good, too. But I think she has no idea I'm already taken." They shared a laugh. "Anyway, I better get back. The kids need direction."

"I'll wait here for you." Riku leaned against the wall and folded his arms into a comfortable position.

Sora nodded and turned back to his students but stopped. He was suddenly filled with that feeling again, the one from the night before, only it was stronger. He looked down at his hands, feeling like he was holding a bit of pure Light and it was burning the tips of his fingers. His heart was being pulled somewhere. He closed his eyes for a moment and focused inward, hoping that the answers might lie deep within. Over the years, he had gotten very good at meditating without needing to actually mentally prepare himself or do the deep breathing that Sky had taught him all those years ago.

_When he reached the metaphorical centre of his heart in his mind's eye, he could clearly see his Nobody restlessly moving back and forth, as if he were waiting for something and trying to figure out a way to leave._

"_Roxas," he said internally. Roxas stopped his pacing and looked at Sora. "What's going on?"_

"_I don't know," his blond counterpart said anxiously. "Something big is coming. We can't stay here." Sora's concern rose._

"_Where should we be?"_

_Roxas shook his head slowly. "I don't know." He looked away and around, as if searching for the answers. "Where the light burns brightest." Sora's eyebrows knitted together in confusion._

"_Kingdom Hearts?"_

"_No." Roxas looked at Sora carefully. "Somewhere else. Some other corner of the universe."_

Sora pulled out of his thoughts and looked at Riku, panic written all over his face. Riku pushed off the wall and placed his hands on Sora's shoulders, sensing the worry building up.

"What? What is it?" he asked. Sora looked down, trying to understand what his heart was telling him. He needed to go somewhere, and he needed to do it soon, otherwise something terrible was going to happen. When he looked up, for a split second, Riku was missing, vanished from the spot right in front of Sora's eyes. He was filled with terror, but when he blinked, Riku was there, still holding his shoulders steady. "Sora? Sora!"

"You… you weren't there…" Sora gasped, eyes going wide. "You were gone." A confused expression crossed over Riku's face.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" Sora shook his head and pulled away.

"I need to go to where the light burns the brightest." He looked Riku in the eye. "I think I need to go to the Cornerstone of Light." The confused expression on Riku's face tripled.

"The Cornerstone of Light? Why? What's there?" Again, Sora shook his head. He didn't understand it himself, but he knew he had to be there within the next day, or else a terrible thing would happen. He was resolute. After the class concluded for the evening, he was going to travel back to Disney Castle and find the answers. Riku saw the determination and resolve on Sora's face. "I'm coming with you then." Sora opened his mouth to protest but stopped. He didn't want to push Riku away, and after years of being together, he certainly wasn't going to deny himself the moral support he so sorely needed. Whatever was going to happen was going to be emotionally draining, he could tell.

"Sure," he said, smiling. "I'd like that." Then as an afterthought, he added, "We should bring Kairi. I can't help but feel like something important will happen and she needs to be there." Riku nodded. With his mind made up, Sora turned back to his class. "Alright guys, I'm going to show you a new technique today. It's called Guard Break. As the name suggests, it's the best way to break through your opponent's guard."

oOoOo

Sky wiped his brow after setting down girder. The sun was beating down on his back, but the heat didn't bother him too much. He took a quick swig of his water bottle before grabbing a cable hanging from a crane and strapping it to the girder. He waved his hand up, letting the man operating the crane know that it was okay to hoist the girder up. He backed away a safe distance as the girder began its ascent high up to the top of what would be a skyscraper.

A loud buzzer went off and several men around Sky grumbled appreciatively. Sky sighed. He didn't like taking his lunch break when there was so much he could be doing in that hour, but it would be hard to accomplish anything by himself, so he broke for lunch along with all his co-workers.

"Hey!" called a voice. Sky turned to see Yuffie bounding towards him. "Come eat with me!" Sky grinned as he grabbed his lunch box and went to sit with the hyperactive ninja.

"Hey Yuffie," he greeted as he pulled out his sandwich – ham and turkey, made by Leon. "I don't see you around here very often anymore. I hope you're not getting _too_ comfy in that executive chair up at Castle Luminous."

"Hardly," Yuffie scoffed. "There's more than one kind of reconstruction effort going on. You do the heavy lifting, we do the heavy thinking." She grinned at her own joke as she bit into her apple. "So how are things here anyway? You guys maintaining schedule?"

"Yeah, if only these guys would stop taking so many coffee breaks." Sky threw a look at a few of the heavier construction workers sitting on the other side of the site. "It can be a little frustrating when no one here can keep up with me." He sipped his bottle of water. A few years after the whole ordeal with the Righteous Hearts, Sky had decided to switch careers for a bit, finding that staying in one job for too long was boring. "What about you? How are the talks coming?"

"Trade negotiations are a headache. Getting everyone to settle on fair pricing and taxes is near impossible. How are we supposed to fund social programs if we can raise the taxes on exports? It's a nightmare!" She sighed, clearly not cut out for dealing with the political side of running their world. Fighting was more her thing. She was about to continue on but paused when she noticed a faraway look on Sky's face. "You okay?" Sky snapped out of it and looked back at her.

"Yeah, I was just thinking…" He trailed off, looked at his sandwich thoughtfully. "I can't help but feel like… this is the last time we're going to talk." He smiled, trying to shake the feeling away. "Pretty stupid, huh?" Yuffie looked concerned. She gently took Sky's arm.

"It's kinda scary to imagine us not talking like this ever again. Why would you be thinking like that?" Suddenly she gasped. "Are you sick? Are you dying? Oh my god, does Leon know? How long do you have?" Sky laughed heartily, drawing the attention of a few of the guys around the site.

"Yuffie, I'm not dying." He settled down. "I've just been feeling odd since yesterday. I feel like… I have to go somewhere. Like…somewhere bright. Someplace comforting."

"Like home?" she offered. "When was the last time you visited Destiny Island?" Sky pondered that a moment.

"A while. But that's not it." He gave it some serious thought, allowing his mind to wander, and Yuffie remained silent, watching him carefully. "Disney Castle."

"Disney Castle? Why there?"

"I don't know." They were quiet again for sometime.

"When?" Sky looked up, and only a few miles away, he could see the shining spires of Castle Luminous, reconstructed from the old remains of Hollow Bastion. It never looked so magnificent.

"Soon. Probably tonight." A cold dread filled his heart, like he was realised that he might not come home. "I'll bring Leon with me. Just in case." That seemed to calm whatever anxiety that was about to grip Yuffie before she could voice it.

"Okay." The rest of their lunch break was spent in silence.

oOoOo

Sora, Riku, and Kairi arrived in the courtyard of Disney Castle via a Corridor of Light. Surprisingly enough, Donald was waiting for them. He seemed surprised at first, but then looked over his shoulder, muttering something.

"So he was right," he said, turning back to the Keyblade-wielding trio. "King Mickey thought you might show up sometime today."

Sora looked properly perplexed. "He did? How did he know we were coming? I didn't send word ahead."

"Everything will be explained soon. We're just waiting for one other." As soon as the words left his mouth, another bright portal formed next to Sora, and none other than Sky and Leon emerged. They seemed to jump when they saw the trio and the trio were certainly surprised to see them.

"Sky?" Sora gasped.

"Mini-me!" Sky exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" The last time they had all been together had been four years ago for a reunion picnic on Destiny Island. They stared at each other for a long while before Donald interrupted the staring showdown by clearing his throat.

"King Mickey's waiting in the throne room," he said quietly. The group was drawn from their stupors, and they absentmindedly followed Donald up the stairs to the colonnade and down a few corridors to where the throne room was located. None of this made sense to them, but after years of being involved in the affairs of the Keyblade, they were used to things not making sense.

Inside, it looked just as pristine as ever, polished white marble, long red carpet, flags hanging from the ceiling. At the far end of the throne room where the chairs were located, King Mickey, his wife Minnie, Goofy, and Merlin were all waiting. The room was oddly quiet when everyone assembled in front of the thrones. King Mickey nodded at each of them before speaking.

"Heya, fellas," he greeted warmly. "How have you all been?" The group exchanged looks, like they were unsure of how to answer that question or if it were even appropriate to speak at all. Mickey cleared his throat awkwardly, deciding to cut right to the chase. "Do any of you know why you're here?" he asked. Sora and Sky looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"I just… felt like I had to be here," Sora said slowly.

Sky nodded in agreement. "I was called here. Something drew me here." King Mickey closed his eyes for a long time, very quiet, and when he opened his eyes once more, he looked very serious.

"The Cornerstone of Light has been acting strange for the last few days, so I called on Merlin to investigate it." He motioned for the others to join him as he pushed back the throne and descended down the hidden staircase to the room where the Cornerstone of Light was kept safe. He turned to the wizard, allowing him to fill in the rest.

"It's the timeline," Merlin said. Pointing at the large globe of light, it was obvious that something was wrong. The light was flickering, as if someone were messing with the fuse of a light bulb. "I have reason to believe that the timeline has become unstable. The effects haven't shown yet on other worlds, but the Cornerstone of Light is breaking down." He paused and turned to Sky and Sora. "And I imagine you two have noticed something out of place, being at the centre of the paradox and being tired to the magic of the Keyblades."

"I did notice something earlier today…" Sora murmured. "Riku seemed to vanish for a moment."

"It's because you're seeing visions of the alternate timeline, a world where Riku perished 6 years ago. Your essence is having a hard time picking out one timeline from another." Merlin turned his attention to Sky. "Sky, what would you say was the date when you left your own timeline and travelled backwards into ours?" Sky didn't have to think about it. He already knew the answer.

"June 12, 2013," he answered. Merlin nodded.

"And today's date is June 11, 2013, roughly 3 hours to midnight." He turned back to the rest of the group. "We are at risk of becoming trapped in a time paradox. You see, the timeline which Sky came from no longer exists, therefore, technically speaking, he never came back to warn us of the threat."

"But he did come back!" Sora protested, not fully understanding what Merlin was talking about. "He's right here!"

"Yes, but he shouldn't be. His timeline was replaced with ours. Do you understand? No one from our timeline has gone back in time to warn our past selves of the war. If no one goes back to fulfil Sky's role, we could potentially be dooming our timeline."

"That doesn't make sense!" Sora growled. "What does it matter if no one goes back now? Our timeline exists now and what's done is done."

"I'm afraid it doesn't matter whether or not you understand the situation; what matters is that we correct the problem before midnight, otherwise we could risk ripping a hole in the space time continuum. It could mean the end of the universe as we know it." Kairi gasped while the others jumped with shock. "The Cornerstone of Light called you two here to correct the timeline. This was where Sky made his journey into the past, so naturally everything would be rippling back from this point. This is where we must find a solution and implement it." Everyone went silent as they all thought about the situation and how to fix it.

"There's only really one solution, I suppose," Sora said after a time. "We have to send someone back so things repeat exactly the way they should, the way they did before." He squared his jaw and stood up a little straighter. "I volunteer."

"No!" Sky shouted. "You'll end up trapped in the past, just like I was. I can't let you make that sacrifice, not when you have so much right here." He stole a glance at Riku. "I'll do it. I've already done it before, so second time around shouldn't be so bad."

"That's not fair to you," Sora protested. "You have someone here for you too, y'know." He pointed at Leon, who had remained quiet thus far.

"Boys, boys!" Merlin called, stepping between the two men. "I'm afraid it's not as simple as sending someone back to re-enact Sky's role in the war. No matter how hard you try, you would never be able to reproduce everything single thing he said or did and even the slightest deviation in the past can ripple out and change the course of history." He shook his head. "No, the solution is a little trickier than that. I've been working on a spell to produce a door similar to the one I created that allowed Sora to travel back to visit King Mickey before he became king, only this door won't be sending anyone anywhere. With a little help from a Princess of Light, we can manipulate the Corridors of Light to trick the timeline into thinking that Sky made his journey into the past."

"Well why didn't you say so to begin with?" Riku said with a relieved smile. Any plan that didn't involve sending Sora away was a good plan in Riku's mind.

"Because of the drawbacks, young Mr. Jou." That statement made the short-lived relief fly out the metaphorical window. "The idea behind the door tricking the timeline into thinking that someone has gone back and played the role of Sky perfectly, well… it involves blending Sora and Sky's hearts together. By doing this, in a way, Sora would partially become the 24-year-old version of Sky, and that's the part of him that will get sent back." He paused, finding it a little difficult to explain his plan. "Sora would technically _be_ the one who made the trip without having to go anywhere, thus stabilizing the timeline. He would gain all of Sky's memories and experiences, and as far as the timeline is concerned, he made the trip back and everything went the way it was supposed to. It's extremely complex. That's why I need the assistance of Miss Kairi here." The room went silent once more as everyone thought about it.

"So what you're saying is…Sky would vanish," Leon spoke up. No one else had wanted to voice it, but now that it was out there, the group became solemn.

"I'll do it," Sky whispered. Several heads looked up, including Sora's. "If it means preventing the universe from imploding on itself or whatever, I'll do it."

"No," Sora said firmly. "We'll find another way. This has to be the stupidest idea I've ever heard! No offence, Merlin." The wizard merely shrugged. "I mean, c'mon! How the hell would the timeline, a non-sentient, non-tangible _thing_ know whether or not someone's got the memories of going back in time? None of this makes sense!" He threw his arms in the air at the last sentence and stormed out of room back up the stairs and into the throne room. Riku was about to give chase when he felt Sky grab his arm.

"Let me talk to him," the older brunet said. Riku wanted to struggle but he stopped himself. "Just…give me a minute, okay?" Sky took a deep breath and departed from the others, ascending the stairs to the throne room. He found Sora at the doorway leading out of the room. "Hey, listen for a sec, will ya?" Sora turned to face him, his face hardened and angry.

"You've already been through hell," he whispered. "And now that you're finally regaining your life, the universe decides to pull this shit? That's not fair!"

"Life's not fair. No one ever said it would be." Sky put a hand on Sora's shoulder. "I was prepared the moment I volunteered for the time-travel mission 7 years ago. I knew there was a chance something like this would happen, that I would fade away into nothing. And I resigned myself to that fate. So what if it took an extra few years to happen? This was always inevitable. It's impossible for me to exist alongside you." Sora pursed his lips, still feeling scorned and upset. "Don't look so sad. I did get back a bit of my life and I'm happy that I got to experience love again after spending years convincing myself I'd never love another after Riku died. It's just time, that's all."

"What about Leon?" Sora whimpered, feeling like he was on the verge of tears. He hadn't cried in a very long time, and he was determined not to start now. "Who will he have?" Sky's face seemed to drop as sadness crept in. Up until that moment, it was like he had forgotten that his lover would be left alone if they went through with this plan. It was the heart-breaking reality of the situation that Sky didn't want to think about, but now he was. Now he had no choice but to dwell over it.

"It's okay," said a voice behind Sky. Both young men turned to the source and saw Leon standing there. "I understand what you gotta do, Sky." They stared at each other for a time before Sora excused himself and went back downstairs to rejoin then others. It was silent for many seconds that seemed to stretch out a lifetime. Leon stared at Sky, and Sky stared back. Neither of them was sure what to say or do. Finally, Leon crossed the room and embraced Sky tightly. "It's okay… It'll be okay…" Sky wasn't sure if Leon was trying to convince him or himself.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, returning Leon's embrace.

"Don't be. I always knew somewhere inside that we were on borrowed time." Leon pulled back so he could see Sky's blue eyes. "But it was great. You and I. We were great." He was a man of few words, but when he did speak, he always meant every word and there was always so much weight behind them. Sky smiled, kissing Leon gently.

"Thank you, Squall. I'll always love you." He knew they had limited time, but he wanted this moment to last forever. But as he had told Sora, it was time. He turned back to the stairs. "Let's get this show on the road."

Leon and Sky rejoined the others next to the Cornerstone. They were waiting expectantly for what would come next.

"Miss Kairi, if you would," Merlin said, breaking the silence. "I would like you to form a Door to Light right next to the Cornerstone and I shall perform a spell to transform it into a Door of Time." Kairi looked nervous for a moment, hesitant to comply. She glanced at Sky, who nodded at her subtly. Her arm rose and she concentrated, creating a brilliant golden doorway to the Corridors of Light. Merlin waved his wand a few times, and a large silver doorway appeared in its place in a show of light and sparkles.

Sky gazed at it carefully, scanning it with his blue eyes, feeling just a little tense and nervous, and perhaps a tinge of fear. He glanced at Sora and saw the same worry on his face. Normally, leaping into the unknown was something he was used to. He actually enjoyed not knowing where certain paths would take him. But this was one path he was scared to take. It reminded him too much of the day when the Cid of his timeline had tossed him through the Doorway that took him back in time in the first place. He had been absolutely terrified that day.

Turning around, he looked among the people he knew as friends. They stared back, forlorn, looking very much like they were attending a funeral, until Kairi broke away from the group, tears rolling down her face, and she wrapped her arms around Sky. Riku joined her a moment afterwards, and before Sky knew it, he was surrounded by everyone trying to give him a hug.

"Hey, guys," he said quietly, not trusting himself to speak loudly, lest it disturb the tears in his eyes. "It's gonna be okay. I'm not really going anywhere." His friends stepped back to let him breathe. "I'll still be around." He turned to Sora, who by now had given up fighting back his tears. "I'll be right here." Sky tapped Sora's chest right above his heart and smiled. Sora sniffled and nodded.

Taking Sora's hand, Sky led his younger counterpart to the doorway. He could feel Sora tensing, like he wanted to run, so Sky held a little tighter, hoping to give him some moral support. They approached the threshold, slow and cautious. The door seemed to open of its own will, and on the other side, there was nothing unordinary about it. It seemed like an empty doorway. Sky and Sora exchanged looks. Sky sighed and nodded.

Sora closed his eyes as they took the first few steps over the threshold. Through his closed eyelids, he saw a flash of light, and Sky's hand grew warm. His grip on Sky's hand involuntarily loosened, and he instinctively tightened it, but suddenly, there was nothing to grip. He was about to open his eyes to find out why, when all of a sudden, he was filled with intense emotions and sensations. His head felt like it was going to explode with all the images and memories flooding it, all the agony and misery that wasn't his. He stumbled out the other side of the doorway and fell to his knees. Riku was quick to rush to his aid, running around the doorway and helping Sora to his feet.

The brunet swayed on the spot as he tried to regain his bearings. He glanced over to the empty doorway and was filled with grief. Sky was gone.

"I remember everything," Sora whispered, looking at Riku. "Anything and everything he knew, I know it now." He pursed his lips as his heart began doing back flips. "It's like I'm two different people now. On the one hand, I've been with you for 6 and a half years, but on the other hand, I lost you 5 years ago." He gently touched Riku's face, as if confirming any of it was real. "I remember all the terrible things Sky told me about his war, the plague, the bombings, everything! And yet I remember the peace we've been living in since we defeated Maleficent. It's so weird…" His eyes searched Riku's, as if expecting to find the meaning of the universe somewhere in there. "God, I missed you…"

But after a few seconds, Sora stood up straight and walked over to where Leon was silently watching on. Without a word, Sora pulled him into a kiss. Several people gasped at the action. When Sora pulled away, he whispered, "Sky told me to do that." Leon looked bewildered a moment, but then nodded, his expression softening ever so slightly.

After a long bout of silence, King Mickey cleared his throat. "So, Merlin, are we in the clear?" Merlin turned to the Cornerstone and waved his wand slowly over the surface, as if scanning it for problems. The light was steadily shining now.

"I believe we are. The timeline has stabilized." His arms dropped to his side and he turned to face Sora. "How do you feel, m'boy?"

"Weird…" Sora answered, stepping away from Leon shyly. "Kinda headachy."

"Well not to worry. I'm sure once the memories have had time to settle in and your heart gets used to its new addition, you'll feel right as rain." Sora somehow doubted that. As long as he had Sky's memories, he'd always know the haunting feeling of living in a universe on the brink of destruction.

"So," Mickey called, getting everyone's attention. "You fellas want to stay for a bit? Catch up?" Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other, shrugging and nodding. Leon sighed.

"No, I should get back," he said. "The others will want to know what happened to Sky." He raised his hand and created a Door to Light to take him back to Radiant Garden. He paused, looking over his shoulder at Sora. "Goodbye, Sky." And then he was gone. Sora felt himself sag just a little. It may not have been his life or his heart, but he really did care about Leon.

As the others filed out of the underground hall, Sora said quietly to the emptiness, "Goodbye, Squall…"

…

End

…

A/N: A bittersweet ending. A lot of you were wondering what would happen to Sky, so here you go. I'm sorry if it was too sad for you, but that's reality for you. Sometimes you get the boy and sometimes you have to sacrifice your existence to stabilize a timeline. That's just how things go. I'm a sucker for sad goodbyes.


End file.
